Poor engine performance affects engine durability, power, thermal efficiency and pollution. Recently, efforts have been directed to optimizing power and propulsion systems for cleaner and lower environmental impact power generation. One approach included an integrated engine combustion monitoring system that uses a light communication channel (LCC) and a sensor, which are embedded in a cylinder head gasket, for monitoring air and fuel mixture, and/or products of combustion, pressure, or temperature. Although this approach offers real-time in-situ data acquisition of some engine performance parameters, the approach requires manually refining operational variables to the engine after sufficient data is acquired. Another attempt included an optoelectronic measuring device for monitoring combustion processes in the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine during operation using optical sensors. The sensors were aligned so that the individual viewing angles of the sensors uniformly cover at least one predefined measuring sector of the combustion chamber. Unfortunately, this device required a large optical system that uses reflection/deflection to communicate a limited number of performance parameters that are useful only for testing engine performance in a controlled lab setting.
Recently introduced performance chips are used to boost engine power. An engine control unit (ECU) uses a formula and a large number of lookup tables to determine the fuel flow for a given operating condition. A chip in the ECU holds all of the lookup tables. The tables in the performance chip contain values that result in higher fuel/air ratios during certain driving conditions. For instance, they may supply more fuel at full throttle at every engine speed, or change the spark timing, or both. Performance chips as recently configured are not used for monitoring vital aspects of engine performance such as engine durability, output power versus efficiency, thermal efficiency, acoustic output, or exhaust constituents, to name a few.
What is needed is a method of real-time, in-situ monitoring pre-combustion state, during the combustion event and post-combustion event in a cylinder and adjusting the combustion event or at least a next combustion event by changing physical parameters and/or constituent parameters to control the engine or turbine performance.